Wire bed-bottom fabric.



C. H. HALSTEAD.

WIRE BED BOTTOM FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.12, 1907.

Patented Nov.24, 1908.

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okssirs n` IIALSTEAD, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR To CENTRAL BEIIDING COMPANY or ILLINOIS, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A oonroRArIoN or ILLINOIS.

WIRE BEDBOTTOM FARC.-

Specification of Lettesatentf'.

Patented Nov. e4, loos.v

Application aies october 12, 1907. senaat. 397,166.'

To all whom 'it may concern:

Ee it known that I, Cassius H. HALs'rnAn, a citizen of the United States, residing'at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of illinois, havn invented certain new and usefuly Iifnproveinentsv `in Wire Bed-Bottom Fabrics, of which the followingis a speci tication.l

This invention relates to wire fabrics and more particularly to that class of fabrics employed for the bottoms of beds, couches and `the like.

More specifically, the invention belongs to that class of wire fabrics wherein are employed a plurality of 1cent wire units of duplicate form and structure throiwhout and arranged in straightvlongitudina and transverse' rows, the upper and lower edges of Ilie fabric Abeing connected to the cor'- res yonding cross-bars of the bed-frame by one or more rows of helical springs to furnish the desired resiliency and elasticity in the bed bottom It is desirable, for reasons of economy, to maintain insofar as possible, uniformity of form and structure in the elements or units of the fabric,V since obviously a variety in this regard entails more complex machinery for manufacture of the units and correspondingly adds to the manufacturing cost.

A leading object of my invention, therefore, has been to produce a fabric composed exclusively of a single forni and structure of unit. capable of being readily assein iled and combining both strength and lightness. A known style. of bed'bottoni fabi-ic at the present. time is oo niposed of a series of parallel longitudinal strands each composed of duplicate units connected end to end, with transverse links flexibly connecting adjacent strands. lu my present invention I have modified this type offabric by eliminating f the transverse connecting elements or crosslinks as separate and distinct elements, substituting therefor integral lateral extensions at one end of the units which are directly interhooked with each other in adjacent longitudinal strands to thereby produce without the 'aid of separate and distinct cross links, the transverse space filling and strand-connecting parte essential in a fabric of this,v character.

The invention will be readily understood wbeii considered in connection with the accompanyin drawing illustrating an approved mec ianical form thereof-in whichf Figure l is a plan view of a portion of-a. bed bottom frame and fabric, the latter beA ing broken out intermediate its ends. Fig. 2 is an edge view of Fig. 1, with the end bars of the frame appearing in cross-section. Fig. 3 illustrates a modified form of edge strand.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates one of tlie'longitudinal side bars of the bed frame, and 1l and 12 the upper and lower end or crossbars, respectively, which 'bars are -conveniently and cheaply formed of anglebars and secured by bolts 13 and nuts 14. The cross-bars 11 and l2 have their upstanding flanges apertured as shown 'at 15 for the reception of the end hooks of the usual series of helical springs 16 and 17 through which the upper and lower ends of the fabric are commonly united with the upper and lower cross-bars of the frame, to.

furnish the desired resiliency and elasticity.

Referring now to the fabric itself, in which the novel features of the present invention Amore particularly reside, this fabric is made up of a series of parallel longitudinal strands each formed of duplicate or substantially duplicate bent wire units'connected end to end, which units are provided at one end 'with integral lateral extensions adapted to be interhooked midway between adjacent strands to connect thelatter, as well as form space-filling elements for the support of the superposed mattress. Each of the units is formed from a single length of wire of suitable gage, according to the load to be sustained, which wire is bent double at its longitudinal center, thereby forming a pair of closely adjacent parallel longitudinal limbs 18 having at one end thereof a downwardly turned loop or bight v19. of sufficient.. width to embrace the longitudinal limbs 18 passed therethrough, the wire forming said limbs at the other end of the latter being bent laterally at a right angle to formfintegral extensions 20, these latter terminating in hooks 21., The hooks 21 of each unit are bent to lie in planes at right angles to each other for suitable engagement with the hooks of adjacentI units and so as not to project above the plane of the upper surface of. the fabric; the hooks being preferably, and as herein shown, disposed in oppositely inclined `planes lying at substantially an angle units being directly hooke 20 shown Fig. 3,

f extension 20 on the outer side,

of 45 greesfrom the plane of the fabric itself, although one hoo may be disposed in a horizontal plane and the other in a vertical plane,'ifdesired. A transverse row of units at that end of the fabric in which the open ends of the units lie adjacent tothe helicals ma omit the lateral projections 20, the long-itu 'nal limbs terminating in simple hooks 22 that directly enga the adjacent end hooks of the helicals. 0 form a suitable edge' for this fabric -a simple straight wire 23 is shown'in Fig. 1, -the same bein connected to and stretched between the en helicals-of the series, and the lateral projections 20 of the adjacent lon 'tudinal row of thereover. In lieu of thesjp wires 23, however, the edge strands may be formed by a connected series of units 2?a of a slihtly modified form, as W ich omits the integral a vsimple hook 22, .such as is shown on the upper transverse row of units, taking the lace thereof. It will be observed fIrJom the foregoingthat the longitudinal and lateral limbs of the units of this fabric are simple straight wires andl hence non -extensibla :"fabries of this class it has been common torender the 'fabric elastic or yield' between its ends, either through the intr uction of one or more transverse rows of springs, or

In some older,

by making the units themselves longitudinally elastic and yielding; but later practice has demonstrated that the proper place for the springs is at the ends oi the abricthus preventing bowing and sagging of the fabric, which is an undesirable characteristic. By thus forming both the longitudinal and transverse limbs of the units of straight nonextensible wires, both longitudinal and transverse stretch of the fabric itself is eliminated. The fabric of this invention can be easily assembled either by hand or machinery, thus saving the expense involved in shipping the fabric in assembled form.

I claim:

A bent-wire unit for abed-bottom fabric, comprising a pair of straight parallel longitudinal limbs provided at one end with a downwardly turned transverse loop or eight adapted to receive the longitudinal limbs of a similar unit, and at the other end with oppositely extending strai ht lateral extensions terminating in hooks a apted to engage corres onding parts of laterally adjacent units, sai last-named hooks on opposite sides of the unit lying in planes substantially at right angles to each other.

W. H. Wes'rwoon, E. C. Fownsn. 

